“Yuan Yuan, hand the painting over to me,” Mo Yixuan stretched out his hand but at that moment, his hand was trembling.
Yuan Yuan didn’t really understand what his father was about to do and he bit his lips and looked a little hesitant before he ultimately handed the painting over to his father.
Mo Yixuan took the painting and soon saw what Yuan Yuan had drawn.
He suddenly closed his eyes as though the painting had touched a nerve. His eyes were completely red when he next opened them and his eyes were completely bloodshot.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” he said repeatedly.
‘Yan Yan, if there is an afterlife. I hope you’d live well and live happily.’ he said silently to the tombstone.
She had suffered a lot and been through a lot of pain after meeting him and only lived until she was 27 years of age before her life was tragically cut short. He had brought disaster upon her and all her distress stemmed from him. If there were to be an afterlife, all he wanted was for her to live well and live until she was a hundred years of age, have children and grandchildren of her own, and a man who would treat her better and love her more than he did for eternity. He wanted her to live without any worries and enjoy a happy and fulfilling life.
‘I will take good care of and raise Yuan Yuan well,’ he promised. His complexion paled even more after he said that.
He gripped the drawing in his hand hard and paused before he dug out a lighter from his pocket and set the drawing on fire.
Soon, the drawing was reduced to ashes.
Yuan Yuan didn’t understand why his father would burn his drawing and walked over to tug hard at his father’s clothes.
Mo Yixuan smiled wryly and gave Yuan Yuan a pat on his head.
“Yuan Yuan, we have to burn your drawing so that your mother would be able to see it in the netherworld,” he said softly.
He knew that she wouldn’t be able to see it. The dead could not be revived and there would be nothing left after one was dead.
It didn’t matter whether one burnt paper money or paper houses, these were just ways that the living used to remember the dead by. He knew that whatever he did would be useless but he still did it anyway.
Yuan Yuan looked up at his father in confusion.
“Would mom truly be able to see this?” he asked doubtfully.
Mo Yixuan nodded with a wry smile.
“She will. She has become a star in the sky that would look after Yuan Yuan and watch you grow up,” Mo Yixuan said. He didn’t know why he said such a thing but he didn’t know what else to do. He knew that he was spouting nonsense and also knew that Yuan Yuan would not believe his words after he grew a little older.
Yuan Yuan nodded as though he understood his father’s words.
“Alright, Yuan Yuan…” Mo Yixuan said after he took a few steps back. Then, he took Yuan Yuan’s hand and said, “It’s time to head back. We can’t impose on your mom for such a long time.”
Yuan Yuan agreed softly and his voice caught in his throat which made Mo Yixuan feel even worse.
Yuan Yuan lifted a hand and waved as he said to the tombstone, “Mom, I’ll be back.”
Mo Yixuan closed his eyes in pain and tried to conceal the guilt and pain that wouldn’t go away.
‘Yan Yan, rest in peace. Please be happy in your next life.’
The shadows of both father and son seemed very long under the sunlight. They slowly walked away from the tombstone and the cemetery and from that day on, Yuan Yuan never asked when his mother would be back or where his mother was.